Executive Branch

Despite facing a bigger-than-expected budget shortfall, and although he promised a policy blackout until he takes office, Governor-elect Larry Hogan last week publicly reiterated his support for repealing Maryland's "rain tax" while meeting with fellow Republican governors in Florida. He told The Washington Post that while "it was not the biggest or the worst tax," it was the one "people had the largest reaction to, and we are going to repeal it." Now, setting aside the fact that exactly what constitutes a "repeal" of what is more accurately described as the stormwater remediation fee is unclear (and more about that later), Mr. Hogan has...

Related "Executive Branch" Articles

There were three more firings this week of Rell-administration political appointees -- both high-level and low -- who landed on the permanent state civil-service payroll during the waning months of Republican M. Jodi Rell's governorship. Officials in...

NEW BRITAIN — The state on Tuesday came through with $850,000 in aid for the Costco project, allowing the city to scale back the size of its tax incentive for the retailer.
Costco wants to open a warehouse store on Hartford Road, and the city council...

Texas plans to begin winding down its deployment of state National Guard troops to the border with Mexico around March or April of next year, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst told reporters on Wednesday. State leaders on Tuesday requested $86.1 million in spending...

State Insurance Commissioner Thomas B. Leonardi, who led the department for nearly four years and traveled widely as an industry expert, is resigning to take a job with a New York investment firm.Leonardi, 60, is taking a job at Evercore Partners Inc.,...

HARTFORD — State officials are looking for $7 million needed to pay for two key elements of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's plan to prevent children with psychiatric behavioral problems from having to resort to hospital emergency rooms or getting stuck there...

"Hello, you've reached the Christie residence. This is Governor Chris Christie. Nobody is home right now but please leave a message and we'll call you back."
(BEEP)
"Uh, Governor Christie? This is the Father's Day/Mother's Day Council...

A Taliban suicide bombing near a base used by U.S.-led coalition troops killed at least two members of the Afghan security forces Tuesday, officials said.
The morning truck bombing occurred on the outskirts of the capital, along a road leading to the...

Missouri's governor declared a state of emergency on Monday and authorized the state's National Guard to support police in case of violence after a grand jury decides whether to indict a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black...

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Monday he won't play a "lead role" in any legislation to expand gaming to include a slots parlor near I-91 between Hartford and Springfield.
Malloy told reporters Monday the issue is a legislative matter, and he...

After word reached the White House staff who had gathered for a drink in the hotel bar one night last week that President Obama was working out an aggressive climate deal with the Chinese president, the first toast was to the planet.
The second was to...

Alaska's Republican Governor Sean Parnell conceded defeat on Saturday more than a week after a closely contested election, saying it was in the state's best interest to move forward with an orderly transition to challenger Bill Walker. Walker, an...

A novel unity ticket featuring independent Bill Walker and Democrat Byron Mallott has defeated Republican Gov. Sean Parnell of Alaska in an election so excruciatingly close that its outcome was not known until 10 days after the polls closed.

A man convicted of fatally shooting his sleeping wife, then raping and murdering her 10-year-old daughter, was executed by lethal injection Thursday evening at Florida State Prison after spending almost half his life on death row, according to the Florida...

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives prepared to vote on Friday to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline that will help transport oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, but a companion bill in the Senate may lack votes to pass next...

Hartford Stage will be entertaining a special audience for those on the autism spectrum for one performance of "A Christmas Carol — A Ghost Story of Christmas."
The theater will host its first a "sensory-friendly" performance of its...

WETHERSFIELD -- The town dedicated its Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday to former police Lt. David A. Scales, a veteran of Desert Storm who died suddenly last summer.
"Lt. Scales was known for his integrity, loyalty and unique sense of humor,"...

Former Republican President George W. Bush said in an interview that aired Sunday that there was a "50-50" chance his younger brother, Jeb, would run for president in 2016.
"He's wrestling with the decision," the former president said...

At 4 a.m. on Election Day, a bleary-eyed group of poll workers walked into the Hartford town and city clerk's office to check the last of more than 1,200 absentee voters off the voter registration lists.
The task was routine; the time and day...